The White of Their Eyes Blog Post

Stuart Hall definitely had some interesting point of views in regards to how the media portrays the ideology of race. I gained a better understanding of what an ideology actually means (or represents) with his three "rules":

1. He explains that ideologies must come in a set or chain of meanings, not just an isolated concept. (for example, the meaning or ideology behind "freedom")
2. Hall also claims that ideologies are made by individuals but not a product of the individual's consciousness.(They work best when we are not aware of the statements that we are formulating)
3. Lastly, ideologies only work when the subject can feel like an authentic author and have positions of identification.

The media, as Hall describes as the central/dominant way of ideological production, is constantly presenting and producing social images, ideas and descriptions of how the world is. I think that although it is a wonderful asset to have this type of gateway into the world, it is also unfortunate that we can build ideologies (or representations as we discussed last week) based upon how the media portrays race.

Hall also defines two types of racism, "overt racism and inferential racism". Overt racism is when people or the media openly speaks or addresses any "racist policy or view". (Something that would be seen on a documentary or news program). Inferential racism is a fictional representation embedded within the plot of a media form. I notice this within characters on t.v. or in movies, especially the ones described by Hall. (Slave figures and isolated white figures)

My take of this article is that it is very clear and accurate. I believe that Hall maintains a very neutral point of view when informing readers about ideologies, which made the article more credible and informational.